Japanese Recipe: How to Make Japanese Curry Rice

If you have traveled to Japan or if you are familiar with Japanese food, you will know that there’s Japanese curry. But for some of you perhaps this dish sounds completely new and until now you didn’t even know that there was a Japanese version of curry, but it exists! The Japanese are expert in taking things from other countries and adapting them to their own culture and preferences. So after the British introduced curry to Japan in late 1800, the Japanese soon adapted it. In the mid-1900s, around 1950, some companies started selling curry roux in blocks, making the curry easily prepared at home to everyone.

Nowadays you will find a great variety of different brands that offer Japanese curry roux in any Japanese supermarket. And normally all brands sell three types of spice levels: mild, medium and high. Sometimes you can find a fourth option with a super spicy level. I personally always buy the Golden Curry brand curry roux because it’s the one I like the most, and the mild spice level. Also because it’s usually the easiest to find even when I’m outside Japan. But you can try different brands and spice levels until you find the one that you really love!

Japanese curry rice or just Curry Rice in Japanese (カレーライス) is one of the most typical dishes to make at home in Japan and one of the easiest to prepare. The taste and consistency it’s completely different from Thai or Indian curry, since Japanese curry is much thicker and sweeter and they always serve it with white rice. If you have never eaten it before, I highly recommend trying it, as it’s delicious! And following this recipe, you can prepare it in just 30 minutes.

Also, for me one of the best things about Japanese curry rice is that you can change the ingredients to taste. Here I will show you my personal recipe, where for example I don’t include onion because I don’t like it, but you can add it, as well as mushrooms, asparagus, or any other similar ingredient with which you want to innovate. So let’s do it!

Ingredients for 4 people:

1 carrot (or two if they’re small)

2 potatoes (you can also switch a regular potato for sweet potato)

1 small can of peas

250 grams of beef, pork or chicken (to your liking)

3-4 ounces of Japanese curry

4-5 small glasses or cups of rice

Preparation:

Wash the rice several times until the starch is removed.

Start boiling the rice. While it’s boiling we’ll start doing the other steps, but we will need to check it regularly to make sure it doesn’t overcook. If you have a rice cooker, this step will be easier.

Peel and cut the carrot and potatoes into medium pieces. Regarding the meat, cut it and remove the fat.

Heat a pan with a bit of oil. Add the carrot first and heat it for about 3-5 minutes, then the potato and finally the meat. Stir fry everything together until it’s done (it doesn’t need to be completely cooked).

Add water to the pan until everything is covered and boil it. Lower the fire.

Add the peas.

Chop the ounces of curry and add them to the saucepan while stirring. Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes. Chopping the curry is what I do as a personal preference (I get the feeling that it dissolves faster) but you can add the pieces to the pan. Many people do it like that too!

And it’s ready! Now all that remains is to serve it and enjoy it.

Easy, right? My roomies are super happy every time that I make this dish and often ask me to prepare it, so I guess is good! 😂Bring out the chef inside you and surprise your family and friends with this simple but delicious recipe! And don’t forget to show us photos of your homemade curry 😉

If you like Japanese food, maybe you are interested in these other articles too!